An Unexpected Adversary
by gothicpothead
Summary: August is a reject, but she has special abilities that no one knows about. When she learns about the clown terrorizing Derry, she doesn't know how to react. Pennywise x OC
1. Chapter 1

The sun beat down onto the school on the last day of classes. The sweet promise of freedom brightened the windows of the classrooms, extending the slow ticking of the clock until the final bell would ring. The students were jittery waiting for the teachers to finish their final lessons, dreaming of what fun they could have.

August was sitting still starring forward dreading whatever the day would bring. The only freedom the school bell would provide would be for her to pull her beanie back on over her shaved scalp. The sooner she could do that, the sooner she could pretend that no one could see her missing hair.

Her insecure thoughts were soon interrupted by a wet piece of gum tacked onto her buzzed hair. The silent giggling's of Greta and her posse followed the vandalism of her head, but August refused to give her the satisfaction. August silently pulled a piece of paper from her binder and pulled the piece of gum off, crumpling the paper back up and laying it on her desk to throw away later. Never removing her eyes from the front.

The laughter died, and August felt looks from many of the students in the class. She even felt Beverly Marsh give her a curious look from the back corner. Beverly was also bullied by Greta frequently because of a false reputation someone gave her. However, it seemed that August was a reject from even the rejects. She could fit in with them, but there were a number of weird things about August that scared even the losers away. Her shaved head for one; her mother forced it on her one night many months ago, before the Christmas break.

Her mother had sauntered into the small house late after midnight, and August had been unlucky enough to be in the kitchen making herself something to eat. Her mother, who was called Ms. Greenleaf by her daughter and the town whore by everyone else, was slurping up her latest pig of a man walking backwards in through the door. They didn't notice her at first, but the man stopped to take off his coat and noticed August standing in the kitchen.

"Who's this?" His voice was gruff from some type of liquor he had indulged himself on.

"Oh, that's just my daughter. She won't bother us." Her mother's voice was thick with drunkenness too as she attempted to bring the man's attention back to her.

Instead he wobbled over to August still frozen in the kitchen, too afraid to make a move. When close enough he stopped and dragged his beefy hands through what once was her long, black hair. Liquor filled the air around her as he opened his mouth to speak once again to her mother. "She sure is a pretty thing, isn't she?"

Cold fear raced through August's body. Her breath held tight in her chest not daring to try to escape, for fear it would encourage him or anger her mother. "Is she for sale too?"

Her mother's pride overpowered her maternal instinct which wasn't out of the ordinary for Ms. Greenleaf. "What's so much better about her than me?" The drunken stance of her hands on her hips highlighted her annoyance.

"Her hair is long and sexy just like a woman's hair should be." My mother's contempt grew, as her hair was short and brown. August's black hair was contributed by whoever her father was, which was indefinitely unknown.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but the only person here to spend the night with is me. So, take it or leave it." Her voice dripping with anger and her mind filled with liquor, didn't understand that she probably shouldn't encourage the man to leave. However, her mother had a toxic streak of jealousy in her. She had many things toxic in her.

The man turned around quickly at her ultimatum, "Well then I guess I'll go. No woman around here worth spending money on anyway." He sneered at her before grabbing his coat and slamming the front door shut leaving mother and daughter in silence.

"You were supposed to be in bed." The anger was still there, but it seemed hotter than before the man left.

"I was hungry." August learned from experience that it was always best to sound vulnerable when mother angry; it would be the most likely thing to remind her that she was her daughter and that she should be kind to her daughter.

"You cost me tonight's money and a new client!" It didn't always work.

Ms. Greenleaf crossed the distance between her and her daughter in a few steps, impressively in the six-inch high heels she constantly wore. Grabbing August's hair, she dragged her into the bathroom. By now August was trying to hold back tears, but not reacting knowing that would only bring worse punishment. Her mother pulled out the shears from the cabinet drawer and plugged them in muttering as she worked, "Tonight was the last time your hair will cost me a client."

The metal shears were very loud against August's ears as her long black hair began falling onto the tiled bathroom floor. She remained emotionless throughout the entire haircut.

Going to school the next day after losing her hair wasn't anything less than excruciating. Everyone was looking at her and many laughed. Henry bowers and his gang weren't as kind. They grabbed her after school and dragged her to the kissing bridge and pinned her against the fence posts as Henry carved the word 'boy' onto her lower stomach. "So anyone who wants to do you will at least have a warning before they pull your pants down." Henry sneered and his goons threw her onto the ground before leaving her. She didn't cry then either.

Remembering that night and following day many months later sitting in the classroom still reminded her of the shame she felt. Her mother has kept her hair buzz cut short ever since. Memories and thoughts were interrupted by the final bell of the day to signify the last day of school had ended. Students raced out of the classrooms and into the hallways to meet the bright summer sun. August walked slowly. No friends to meet up with. Everyone avoided her because of her mother's reputation. Mother was probably at home sleeping off her latest hangover. 'Have to be well rested to do my job!' Mother said that every time August accidentally woke her up.

August passed Ben Hanscom and Beverly as she exited the building. She was signing his yearbook. 'At least he got one signature,' she thought feeling the loneliness surround her. Her oversized overalls scuffed against the ground as she walked through the grass. All he clothes were about two three sizes too big. Yet another precaution she had put in place to protect herself from mother's unsatisfied customers.

Mother wouldn't be gone until later tonight. August decided it would be best to spend time somewhere else for a while. The library seemed like a good choice. August loved reading and strengthening her mind. It was her most prized tool. Walking up to the library she noticed Henry bowers, Vic, Belch, and Patrick all waiting outside, placing themselves to ambush whoever would come out of the library. August FELT the intentions of the Bowers gang and knew they meant malice for whoever was in there. She placed herself against a wall of a nearby building and waited with them.

This was ordinary for August. She could FEEL things. People's intentions or emotions. An event that was about to occur. Or even an event that was already happening, she just wasn't close enough to witness it. Sometimes if she wanted, she could even understand someone else's thoughts, or move objects with her mind. These events have been happening ever since she was very young. She had practiced enough to get very good at it, but she always made an effort to keep it hidden from her mother and from people in town. Afraid people would think her more of a freak.

Ben Hanscom suddenly came running out of the library pale as milk. He didn't see Henry waiting behind the statue, neither did he see the others when they came up from behind him and grabbed him. She followed them all the way to the kissing bridge. She wanted to help, but she didn't know how. She was about to rush over when Henry began cutting into his stomach and Ben kicked himself over the fence and down into the barrens. Henry chased after. When Henry wasn't paying any attention August held out her hand and pulled Henry's pocketknife into her hand from where she was hiding. She heard Henry yell at his friends to find it when he realized it was gone. It was in safer hands now.

August closed her eyes and listened with her mind. Ben was bleeding and afraid. He was having trouble running because of how out of shape he was but kept going. There was a creek also slowing his pace. She knew where he was.

Ben was so tired. The adrenaline from the run was still coursing through his veins, but the pain from the cut was starting to ebb into focus. Breath burned through his lungs; he'd have to stop and catch his breath. He fell into the water, tripping over some of the larger rocks. Getting up again was a vain act as he once again stumbled into the water face first. To his right he heard voices and was afraid that it was Bowers. Luckily it was just some other kids from school. They looked worriedly at him, "Are you okay?"

"Bowers," was all he could sputter. They rushed off, dragging Ben towards their bikes and somewhere safer. August watched it all from the bushes. She wanted to help Ben, but once she realized that some of the boys from school were there she held back. How could she ever make friends? People immediately judged her as soon as they saw her. She practically had 'WHORE'S DAUGHTER' written on her head. Her shaved head.

She was about to leave when she heard Patrick, one of Bower's followers, splash through the water. He was holding his lighter and can of spray to go with it. He went looking into the giant sewer pipe, that she was coincidentally hiding next to. As he edged in, August suddenly felt a cold chill run up her spine. A bad feeling hit her like a bullet, and she wanted to shout out to Patrick. Don't go in there! But, any attempt on her part would only reward her with punishment. She hoped that it was just a mistake on her part and started her walk back to town.


	2. Chapter 2

Summer was a time of fun and games for children who no longer had the responsibilities they were held to during the school year. However, for August it was lonely. It was another day and she once again found herself walking through the streets of Derry. The warm sun felt especially hot against her scalp. She spent a lot of time outside during the day. It was the only time her mother was home, and August found it within her best interest to avoid her mother at all costs. Most times she would go to the library or walk through mains street area thinking to herself. The quiet calmed her and made her feel safe. Which she never felt like at home.

She thought about Ben and wondered how he was doing after the attack from Bowers. His cut didn't seem that deep, but she knew he was scared and exhausted by the time the other kids from school had found him. She knew the other boys from school fairly well by noticing them in halls. Richie, she understood was a clown, but it seemed more like he liked to use his comedic effect to distract from his insecurities. Stan was a timid and quiet boy, very reflective of his religious statutes. However, like Richie he seemed to resent many of the things his religion didn't allow him to do. Eddie was always afraid of his environment and he used his pills and medicines to protect him, they were his shield. And Bill. Bill was quieter ever since he lost his little brother, Georgie. She felt his grief radiate off of him sometimes in class. They were extremely close friends and also happened to be common enemies of Bowers. So, it seemed to be the perfect coincidence when Ben washed up with his injuries shaking with fear. They hopefully took him somewhere safe and made sure he was okay. August hadn't followed them, she knew he would be in good hands.

August hadn't been paying attention to her surroundings while she was thinking. Her mind was a very strong entity of its own and very often her thoughts would take control and she would walk for hours without paying attention to her destination. She took in her surroundings and noticed where she had wondered off to. To her right stood the Neibolt house. An especially strong cold shiver crept up her spine and alerted her that danger was near. Eyes were on her. Her intuition told her that a presence was inside the house and it was watching her very closely. The dark condemned building loomed over her, but she didn't feel as afraid as she probably should have. Curiosity tapped on her shoulder and told her that whatever was in the house was worthy of investigating. The voice of fear was too small to overpower it as her sneakers crunched over the decaying weeds of the front steps of the Neibolt house.

The inside of the house was just as she had expected from a condemned building. The cobwebs stretched over every inch of the house seemingly trying to protect the house from spying eyes. The feeling of being watched grew stronger. The presence didn't feel the same as another human's presence would. It felt much stronger and malevolent than that. However, her curiosity remained and merely grew stronger.

Would it be stupid to address such a being directly? If her intuition was right and whatever was here was supernatural and dangerous then perhaps it would be unwise of her to try to make contact with such a being. However, it wasn't as if she were just an ordinary person, so if need be, she could protect herself. But what would be the best way for her to try to make contact with it?

"Show yourself. Scaring me is not going to work." Perhaps, directness would be her best choice (if it didn't end up getting her killed). Her voice was confident. There was no fear in her.

Pennywise had been watching her ever since she drew near the house. He had prepared himself for a lingering scare and attack from the moment she walked toward the house, but hadn't expected her know he was watching her, much less that she would know his intentions. He had killed a few people in Derry so far, but he shouldn't have been THAT well known or predictable. Perhaps this girl was similar to the fat kid and was aware of the history of Derry and his pattern of behavior. Maybe she was foolish and had come here to challenge him.

Pennywise decided that it couldn't hurt to show himself; she would be scared by him either way and could still serve as his meal. Perhaps this way it could be easier. He appeared on the long end of what could have once been a living room and waited for her to notice him.

August waited patiently wondering if the creature would appear or leave her in indefinite suspense. She was looking towards the hallway that led deeper into the house when she suddenly felt a presence to her right. Looking over she saw it. A tall creature dressed in a Victorian style clown costume with a large bulbous head. His ruby rep painted lips were gently smiling at her, but his smile didn't seem friendly. The aura of foreboding seemed to fill the room around her, and she understood the ominous feeling was emanating from the creature. She couldn't but also notice how amazingly blue his eyes were. They almost made the creature look attractive in a certain light.

Instead of being antagonistic she decided a soft confrontation would be better; if she became aggressive it could easily lead to a fatal mistake. She gently reached out with her mind and prodded his before he had the chance to speak to her. His eyes grew wide with surprise as she searched through his brain for answers to his existence. He tried to push her out, but she proved too powerful even for Pennywise. He didn't know whether to be impressed at her abilities or angry at her nerve to intrude into his mind.

August quickly recovered all the information regarding his identity. His origin was the Macroverse and he seemed to be a malevolent creature even when he existed there. Once here on earth he appeared after every twenty-seven-year hibernation to feed. Feed on people. He liked to appear in the clown identity named Pennywise as it appealed to children the most. He seemed to favor children because of their fear and the way they… _tasted_ when afraid. August pulled away from his mind in disgust. She stumbled falling onto the dust covered floorboards and tried to resist the urge to throw up.

As the girl kneeled along the floor, Pennywise took this opportunity to reach into her mind since she already took her turn without asking first. He reached out and instead of her mind he met a brick wall. It was thick. She had built up a protective layer along her psyche so that no one would be able to get into her private thoughts and secrets. It was impenetrable even for him.

"How did you do that?" Pennywise gleamed with curiosity at this girl. She fascinated him more than any other human he had ever met. A human that could match his psychic powers? The idea was almost impossible. Yet the 'almost' stood in front of him.

August raised herself from off the floor and made direct eye contact with Pennywise. "My name is August."

"I don't remember asking you _that_," he replied with a sneer.

August ignored his rudeness, it's too be expected from an evil entity from another universe. "Your name is Pennywise?" She would still try to be polite.

Pennywise couldn't believe why she was acting so nice to him after all that she discovered. "Yes. What do you want?" He growled at her warning her keep her mind games to herself. August looked down, somewhat disappointed at his aggressive behavior. Although she couldn't have expected a warm welcome from such a being. "A satisfied curiosity and maybe some company." Her statement was only met with a confused expression from Pennywise. "You want me to be your FRIEND? I am the eater of worlds? Why would I want to be friends with a mere human?"

"Because you're all alone. And not even a creature of darkness can stand that."

Pennywise held back the thought that she could be right and instead chose to become angry. With a deep growl he replied, "you need to leave before you become my meal for the afternoon."

"You can't eat me as long as I'm not afraid of you. It would do you no good."

Pennywise grew even angrier at this girl and decided he was done talking. He leapt on top of her knocking her onto the floor. "How DARE you talk to me as if I am your equal. I could rip you to shreds!" The rows of sharp teeth were revealed, but the girl was looking at his gold glowing eyes instead. The way they chased away the beautiful blues saddened her for some reason and made her feel sorry for the creature. Pennywise stopped. She wasn't scared.

Pennywise saw the pity in her eyes and didn't know what to do. He stood up, removing himself from on top of the girl. She sat up but remained sitting on the floor looking up at him. He then noticed her appearance. The other girls that lived in town usually had their hair long or at least shoulder length, it seemed to attribute to their human femininity. They would also wear clothes that furthered this feminine need. However, the girl in front of him could easily be mistaken for a human male if one didn't look close enough. "Why is your appearance misleading?" It slipped out before he could try to catch it. Curiosity seemed to be mistreating him today.

"Your one to talk about misleading appearances," she replied with an accusatory tone.

"What are you protecting yourself from?" The walls in her mind combined with her confusing appearance proved her distrust of people. However, that was an extreme amount of protection for a young girl to put up, even for an evil clown to try to break through. Combined with her desperate willingness to befriend him confused him even more.

She was silent as she stood up and dusted herself off. Staring through the window facing away from him she seemed far away. She stood thinking of something for a moment while silenced gathered in the air around them. Her voice was extremely quiet when she finally spoke, "everything." A deep sigh escaped her, and her shoulders sank with the weight of the world. Walking towards the door she stopped and spoke without turning around, "I'll see you around Pennywise," and walked outside.

Pennywise stood silently as she left thinking about how to handle this new occurrence. She could be an extremely dangerous adversary if he let her roam free. At any moment she could use the knowledge she had just gained to destroy him. However, Pennywise for some reason didn't believe that was her intention. He decided that for now, instead of pursuing her as his next meal, he would study her. Perhaps he could understand more about this girl and her abilities. As he disappeared into his well waiting for nightfall to pursue his next victim, he silently thought more about the strange girl he met.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys. Sorry about how long this chapter took to post, been very busy with finals. Please let me know what you think!

* * *

August was sitting on her bed thinking about the events of the day. It wasn't everyday that one met a supernatural clown and remained unfazed.

Her room was dark, but she knew the layout well enough so that if any of her mom's customers tried to enter, she could easily evade them and run out the door. The streets of Derry in the middle of the night were quite often safer than her own home. It wasn't too late in the night, but her mother had already left for 'work' and the house was quiet, as if it wanted to let August have a moment of peace. The walls in her room were bare from any posters or personality and the coloring of the furniture was dull and washed out. She made it a point to not keep any personal items around so that her mother couldn't use them against her. The only thing in her room that resembled a piece of herself was the changing stack of books she kept on her bedside table. This week it held the classics of Emily Dickinson's poetry and Joseph Conrad.

The popcorn textured ceiling starred back at August as she took comfort in the silence. It was so quiet that at first, she almost didn't notice the tiny sound of crunching. It was a soft, quiet sound, as if hearing an army from very far away marching to war. It was too quiet to be any animal, but it seemed close enough to be in the room. While scratching her foot she bent down under her bed to see if there was anything underneath. She couldn't make out any large shapes that could belong to anything, but honestly it was too dark to see anything under there. August sat up to turn on the lamp on her bedside table when she felt a tiny bite on her arm. She abruptly turned her head to see an ant sitting on her arm, seemingly looking at her, offended that she had noticed it. She smashed the ant wondering how it had gotten there. Scratching at her leg she once again reached for the lamp when a tiny bite came from her thigh. Instead of looking she quickly turned on the lamp and pulled back the covers. What met her eyes were a colony of thousands of tiny red fire ants crawling up and down her legs. It looked almost as if her sheets were on fire from the color of the ants enhanced by her lamp. Once they noticed the light, they immediately began biting at her legs causing an excruciating amount of pain. She tried pushing the hordes of ants away, but more multiplied in their place. Kicking the last of the covers off she began to pull herself out of bed to escape from the pain, when she felt herself sinking down. Looking down at her bed she didn't find the usual torn sheets or worn mattress, but instead she found herself sitting on a giant anthill with hundreds of thousands of fire ants streaming out angered by the light.

Then it hit her.

Pennywise.

He was trying to scare her. He wanted to test her to see if she would react like everyone else in Derry. But she wasn't like everyone else. Concentrating, August reached out both of her hands and pulled the anthill and all of its inhabitants into the air with her mind. It looked almost unrealistic for a moment, watching all of those tiny red squirming bodies orbit the colossal dirt pile as it all hung in the air, as if her lamp were the sun holding it all together through the power of gravity.

Then August was blown back against the wall the breath being knocked out of her with the hard impact. She expected to look back and find the ants once again on the ground trying to rebuild their demolished home, but instead found Pennywise glaring at her angrily, sitting on an ant-free bed.

August suddenly had the urge to laugh. Pennywise almost looked like a small child would when they haven't gotten their way and were gathering energy for the inevitable tantrum.

Letting a small smile cross her lips August spoke in an amused tone, "That was impressive, but nonetheless ineffective."

Pennywise let out a small growl, angered at her attitude and contemptuous tone. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm tired." August laid down and proceeded to close her eyes.

"How many other powers do you have?"

August smirked with her eyes still closed. "Can't say. It's a secret."

The bed bent with the weight of Pennywise sitting onto the bed, causing August to sit up and look at him. He was starring at her trying to understand the complexities of a tiny girl and the powers of a god.

Then the sound of the front door opening and closing, mixed with drunken laughter echoed from the living room. August's eyes widened and she quickly reached over and turned off her lamp. Pennywise could smell the fear and wondered what would scare her when an army of fire ants wouldn't. The sound of sloppy kissing and clothes being unzipped slowly clambered down the hallway past August's bedroom door towards her mother's bedroom.

Once she heard her mother's bedroom door close, August turned over on her side facing the wall, balled up into the fetal position with the blanket piled on top of her. She spoke in a whispered hush saying, "I'm going to sleep now."

Pennywise was still somewhat angry that his scare didn't work and why the sound of the girl's mother coming home did. With other people Pennywise could look into their mind's and see what they feared the most, but this girl was too blocked off to reach. Before he vanished to go find prey, he heard her whisper once more, "Will I see you tomorrow?"

August only heard silence in response to her question. Laying there in her bed she wondered what the next day would bring.

* * *

The light of dawn washed through the windows of August's room. She blinked awake and rushed out of bed, pulling on a clean, white tank top and the same overalls that she always wore. Grabbing her bag and filling it with books she quietly stepped out of her room. Her mother would be sleeping off her hangover with whoever spent the night last night.

As August was tip towing through the hallway, she suddenly heard the toilet flush through the bathroom door which was just a few feet away from her. She tried to quickly rush past, but the bathroom door opened, and August heard a gruff voice speak to her.

"Hey! Who are you?" He sounded younger than some of the other men, but still had that underlying tone of pervert that they all possessed. August turned to look at him and noticed he was only wearing his underwear and nothing else. She quickly turned away again uncomfortable at the situation.

"I'm her daughter." He would know who 'her' was, so she didn't find it necessary to give a deeper explanation.

He gave a grunt of indifference in return. August then heard him walking but noticed that he was walking towards her instead of back towards her mother's bedroom. She was still facing away from him when she felt him come up behind her. He was close enough to push his body up against her. He stood there for a second and then she heard him take a deep breath, smelling her neck. August stood frozen, scared to move away from him and anger him, but also afraid to stand still and encourage him.

"I guess I'll see you again," he whispered in her ear and turned and walked back to the bedroom.

August stood there for a moment and tried to regain movement. Swallowing her fear and hoping that the man would forget their interaction because of his hangover she quietly exited the house.

The barrens were radiating in sunshine, brightening the greenery that surround her. The words from her book were easily illuminated. However, August found that she couldn't concentrate on the words. She was reading the same paragraph for the sixth time when she threw down her book and decided that perhaps she should find something else to do. Laying back against the grass she decided to practice.

Reaching out her hand towards the tree above her she began to pick the leaves off the branches with her mind. She guided them towards the ground and laid them in neat little stacks next to her head. Before long the tree was barren. Knowing that a blank tree in the middle of June would look strange August stood up and faced the tree. She reached out her hand and with a squeezing motion began crushing the tree. The branches made a terribly loud breaking noise like the sounds of bones breaking. The larger ones were six to eight inches in thickness but snapped with ease. The broken limbs fell towards the ground littering the once luscious grass. Soon there wasn't anything left except the trunk. With a pushing motion the trunk fell over thundering against the hard ground.

August stood there looking at the ruined tree. When behind her a voice broke the silence.

"If a tree falls in the forest, and there isn't anyone to hear it, does it make a sound?"

August rolled her eyes at the voice, "Pennywise. Are you following me?'"

August turned around to see the clown sitting on the grass a few feet away from the giant branches littering the ground. He was facing her with a strange smile that implied he was somewhat impressed by her but would never admit it.

"Of course, I am. You interest me."

The confession surprised August. She walked over to her bookbag and sat down next to Pennywise in the grass. "And why is that." A creature like Pennywise was something that August would easily call interesting. His very existence astounded her, so it wasn't obvious as to how she herself could also be considered interesting.

"You're not like the others."

August looked at him, trying not show any emotion to him. As curious as he seemed about her, she didn't trust him or his intentions just yet. "Because of what I can do."

"Yes. Although there are some that are somewhat aware that the psychic world exists, I've never met any with as strong as an understanding as you." He looked at her, and she could tell he was trying to solve her puzzle.

She looked away, smirking and knowing that it would be a while before he did.

"Why were you afraid of your mom and that man last night?"

Or perhaps she had underestimated him.

She couldn't pretend that his observation was wrong or mistaken because he would see through that. August took a deep breath sighing into the silence.

"My mother isn't the nicest person to me, and I prefer to keep my distance from her." It was a matter of fact response, but it didn't reveal the entire truth. Although she had to admit to herself that it was nice to open up, even if it was just a fraction of all her real worries.

Pennywise searched her face looking for a lie but didn't find any. However, he still had so many questions and he knew that she wouldn't answer them all. Not yet at least.

Pennywise looked down at the green grass. It was a beautiful day and it had the promise of fun for the kids that were out of school for the summer. He would have plenty of options for a meal later.

His head snapped to look over at the girl. "Why aren't you with others of your age?"

August was taken by surprise and also reminded of her loneliness. "I don't have any friends." Her voice was soft, full of the sadness that an outcast would feel.

A strange feeling crept up onto Pennywise. It felt almost like sadness for the girl. He pushed it back down, pretending that it never happened. "Why not?" He attempted to make it sound like he was indifferent as to whether or not she would reveal anything about herself, although the more he learned about the girl, the more his curiosity burned.

August looked at Pennywise, noticing once again how beautiful his blue eyes were especially with the glint of the sun shining in them. "Like you said, I'm not like the others."

* * *

August was walking down the street once again. Pennywise had hinted at the notion that he needed to find something to eat and so they had parted ways. The civil way they spoke to each other made August wonder if she was making a mistake by being so friendly with him. He could easily attack her anytime he wanted to, and August was giving him plenty of opportunity. Of course, he had seemed pretty honest when he mentioned how rare of a human being she was, so perhaps he really did just want to know more about her. However, what would happen after he got bored of her?

The sudden sound of a deep growling engine pierced her eardrums and August shot her head in the direction of the sound, finding a dark, blue firebird facing her. It was Henry bowers and his gang and at first August thought that he was there to torture her like they always managed to do, until she noticed that they all had their attention on a black boy that had fallen off his bike onto the side of the road. The fear on his face was obvious, but he quickly picked himself up and ran into the woods as the bullies closely followed, yelling taunts and threats at him as they charged.

August knew she couldn't stand on the side like she did before with Ben and decided she had to help this time. Quickly dropping her bookbag on the side of the road she followed right behind the Bowers gang.

Suddenly stopping in the bushes, August stood watching Henry, Vic, and Belch beat on the poor boy. She was frozen with indecision. She couldn't use her powers in situations like these because then everyone would know what she could do. Then what could happen? She could be bullied more so than she was now. They could send her away for testing to understand how far her powers actually went. Everyone in town could become afraid of her and whatever she was. August could hear the boy as he howled in pain, writhing as Henry kicked him in the stomach and groin. August couldn't wait any longer and rushed out of the bushes, through the water tackling Henry to the ground.

It took everyone, including Henry, by surprise. Not wasting any time, she began nailing him in the head with punches, continuing even after the sickening crunch of his nose declared that it was broken, continuing even after his face turned red from the blood. Vic suddenly pushed her off Henry while Belch was still holding onto the boy. Henry pinned her onto the ground straddling her between his legs.

"Hey leave her alone!" It was the black boy that she had been trying to save. He was trying to break free to help her, but Vic had returned to help hold him, both goons waiting for Henry's orders.

"Yeah, leave both of them alone!"

It was another voice. August looked up along with the Bowers gang and the boy to see a group of kids on the other side of the stream. She recognized all of them from school. Eddie, Bill, Stan, Richie, Beverly, and Ben. They stood on that tiny sandy hill as if they were the conquerors of a new land. August could feel their courage rolling off them in waves.

Henry removed himself from atop of August and she quickly pulled herself up, punched Vic in the face and grabbed the poor boy's hand pulling him away from his tormentors. They ran across the stream towards safety, which at this moment were a somewhat scrawny group of kids that were the most bullied in school.

"Woah. Who's the bald chick with moves." August heard Richie mutter this from the other side of the group.

"You losers are trying too hard." Henry was gesturing to Beverly, a severely lusty look crossing his bloody features. "All you have to do is ask nicely, like I did."

August suddenly felt a wave of rage from the group, especially coming from Ben. Pulling the boy out from in front of the group, she was just in time to witness a rock flying through the air nailing Henry in the face.

Then the rock war began. August took part, throwing her share of stones, glad that Henry was finally getting a small fraction of what he deserved. When the dust settled and quiet fell on the group, Vic and Belch were gone and all that was left was Henry kneeling in the sand. The losers left him there, walking away through the brush, knowing that he wouldn't try to follow them.

Once out of the woods, the boy August had saved turned to her, "Thanks for that back there. You were pretty good."

August smiled back at him, "Thanks." She didn't really know what else to say to him, not used to talking to people. "What's your name?"

"My name's Mike. Most people know me as the homeschool kid."

"Hey, that's what we call you," Richie sounded from the front of the group.

"Yeah," Mike looked at August gratefully before turning to the front as they followed their saviors. "You guys shouldn't have done that, he'll be after you guys too now."

"Bowers has always had it out for us," someone near the front stated with almost an air of indifference.

"I guess that's one th-thing we all have in common," stuttered Bill as he walked along side August and Mike.

August had returned to the curb to get her bag, as the rest of the losers club were getting their bikes. They looked more like a bike club with all their chrome handle bars and weaved baskets attached to the front.

August started walking down the street as she had done earlier before the rescue had ensued.

"Hey, wait!" It was Mike. He rode up along side her, and the rest of the group were walking their bikes towards her as well. "Where you going?"

August stood there not really understanding what he was meaning. She hadn't expected any of them to want to be around her longer than they needed to because of how weird she was. She knew how people talked about her at school and everyone, including the 'losers' thought she was too weird to be around. They were all standing there, waiting on a response from her.

Mike must have noticed how nervous August was getting and quickly changed his question. "I mean, your hanging out with us, now right?"

She looked at the rest of the group, they all seemed to be looking at her with the same expectancy as Mike. Reaching out with her mind she felt that all of them were willing to be friends with her, however, some of them also seemed nervous because of how little they actually knew about her.

"If that's what you all want." August responded gently, giving the group a chance to announce any reservations that they had.

"O-of course. Everyone n-needs a f-friend." Bill smiled through his stutter and the rest of the group seemed to agree.

August felt a small smirk peek out at the edge of her mouth, at realizing that there were people who were willing to look past her quirks. "Okay."

* * *

August got home later that night, after walking through main street with the rest of the losers club for awhile. They had talked and joked, asking August a few questions about herself every now and then, but she hadn't revealed anything that would give away her home life or background. It would be awhile before she opened up about anything that really mattered. It was nice for the most part to have people to talk to for a change. Although, she seemed to enjoy her conversations with Pennywise a little more. She felt safer around him for some strange reason and she was more willing to tell him certain things like she had earlier that day.

Crawling into bed, August realized how tired she was from everything that had happened that day. Her worn bed seemed to welcome her with a warm embrace that made her feel almost safe. Weariness soon overcame her and she fell asleep.

She woke to a sound of creaking wood. The room was dark and so it was hard to see anything, but she felt a presence entering her room. August knew that the presence was human and therefore it wasn't Pennywise this time. Realizing immediately that she was in danger she knew she had to escape. She stayed perfectly still, pretending that she was still asleep, until she felt the person a few feet from her bed. Then, moving as quickly as she could, she threw off her covers and tried to zig-zag around the person, heading for the door. For safety. But, whoever it was, they were too quick for her and before she knew it she had huge hands holding her against their form, one hand over her mouth and one preventing her hands from hurting her attacker. It must have been a man because of how big and strong they were. He dragged her back over to her bed and pinned her down still covering her mouth.

"I told you I'd see you later."


	4. Chapter 4

Warning: This chapter does have some sexual violence content, so if that sort of thing triggers you please don't read this section.

August was suddenly pinned onto her bed by the man. He had the smell of liquor on his breath as he whispered in her ear once again. "We met this morning, don't you remember me? I definitely remembered you." In the darkness she couldn't see him, but she could feel the scruff of his beard against her cheek.

August felt her resolve slip a little as a tear slid down her cheek. She never liked to show emotion, but this situation seemed life threatening enough to reveal some weakness.

He was kissing her neck as he held her down. "I'm gonna enjoy this." His voice was muffled as he continued to trail kisses down her torso. "I know you'll be more enjoyable than that hag mother of yours."

He raised up to reposition so that he could hold her hands down with only one arm, while using his other hand to pull her shirt above her head revealing her white lace bra.

"Please don't," she begged. The tears were flowing freely now and she was losing hope in any kind of salvation. She didn't want to use her powers just in case the man escaped and tried to tell anyone.

Then the distant sound of Ms. Greenleaf kissing a man entered the quiet house. August and the man on top of her stilled at the sound. He quickly placed a hand over her mouth to keep her from calling out for help.

The sounds of her mother's sexual endeaver trailed through the house until they neared August's bedroom door. That's when August had the thought that it would be very unlikely that anyone would believe then man on top of her if he did try to tell anyone about her powers. The fact that he was drunk would cause anyone to be skeptical of him. With this realization August concentrated enough to lift her lamp off of her desk that was near them and bang the man over the head. "Ouch! What the hell?" The hit was hard enough to cause the man to release August and try to defend himself from the invisible attacker.

"What the hell was that," screamed her drunken mother from the hallway. Her bedroom door was thrown open and the room was washed in the dim yellow light of the hallway. "What the hell are you doing in here?" Ms. Greenleaf looked sternly at the man too drunk to recognize him from that morning. The man was still on her, so August grabbed his head and headbutted him with her own. This caused the man to fall off of her stunned from the impact.

August took this opportunity to jump from her bed and quickly grab her shoes from beside her door. As she ran out her front door, she could hear the distant voice of her mother calling for her to come back. However, she didn't care about that. The only thing she cared about was the feeling of the man's body still on her and how badly she wanted that feeling to go away.

* * *

She ran through the summer night, not really knowing where she was going. It wasn't until she got to the center of town that she decided to go to the Neibolt house.

Running up the rotten steps and banging open the door and closing it behind her loudly, she finally let herself cry freely. Sliding down the wall and landing in a fetal position, the sobs echoed through the empty house. She hadn't cared whether Pennywise would be there or not, she just wanted to go somewhere private that she knew she would be safe.

"What is this? What do you think you're doing?" August recognized the voice as Pennywise and looked up at him through her tears. He was starring down at her with a mixture of confusion and frustration. He hadn't noticed that she was crying yet. "What are you doing here barging in during the middle of the night," he demanded, placing both fists against his hips making him look comically angry.

August wasn't able to answer, she just stared at him as her lone tears slid down her cheeks. She tried to speak but couldn't muster the strength to find her voice. The events were still happening in her mind. The man was still laying on her and touching her. She was scared to think if he had gotten farther in his attempt.

"Hello, I'm speaking to you." Pennywise chose to jab her shoulder to grab her attention, but he didn't get the reaction that he had anticipated. "DON'T FUCKING TOUCH ME," the girl screamed, slapping his gloved hand away. She scooted slightly away once again returning to her previous posture, starring into space.

Pennywise, instead of growing angry at this attack, became somewhat worried. The girl in front of him seemed closed off and defensive, but this felt extreme for even her. He then noticed the tear tracks under her eyes and her defensive posture. This behavior seemed very different then how he had encountered her thus far in their interactions.

He decided to sit down next to the girl on the floor, without touching her, because that proved to be a huge mistake. 'What the hell is wrong with her? Something big must have happened,' he thought.

Almost as if she had been reading his mind, which was totally possible, August responded, "I just had a bad night." Although she said this in an attempt to regain her composure, she continued to stare forward, stuck with the feeling of the man still on her, while barely understanding her surroundings. She then had a sudden thought. Turning to Pennywise she asked, "Could I sleep here?"

His eyes grew wide at her request, but he couldn't turn her down because of the sadness that laced her voice. "Yeah, uh, sure." He pointed at the other end of the room, "There's a couch over there, if you wanna sleep there. But only tonight."

"Thanks," she monotoned, void of emotion. She managed to pick herself up and went to lay on the filthy old couch. She thought it was somewhat comfy despite the cloud of dust that erupted into the air when she plumped down on it. Pennywise had followed her over to the couch and was currently crouched in front of her looking at her with worried eyes.

Pennywise felt unsure of what to do. He knew that something bad had happened and the girl in front of him was experiencing a terrible amount of pain. Searching her face, he suddenly noticed a growing bruise on her head. Looking at her face again he was unsure if he should ask. However, he thought it couldn't hurt. "What happened to your head?" He tried to keep his voice soft, knowing that humans found that comforting. At first, she simply blinked at him, but she eventually responded with, "I hit it on something."

Pennywise couldn't help but roll his eyes at her obvious answer, "No shit?" Although somewhat agitated at her confusing state, he saw a small smile appear on her lips at his sarcasm. She then closed her eyes, beginning her attempt to get to sleep. Pennywise decided to stay and wait for her to fall asleep, making sure that she wouldn't be alone.

* * *

The next morning August woke up, finding herself on the dustiest couch she had ever seen. A loud snoring permeated the room. She bent down, looking at the floor beside the couching, finding a resting clown with a chainsaw snore.

August placed her hand over her mouth, hiding a smirk. She laid back down, smile fading as she remembered the events of the night before. Mentally placing another layer on top of her already strong wall that she kept for protection against invaders, she began grinding her teeth while trying to keep the tears at bay.

Beginning at a low tumble, the ground started to vibrate. August was in a world of her own and couldn't hear the vibrations. Pennywise, however, awoke to the ground shaking beneath him. It was vibrating like a purring cat; only noticeable if one was quiet and still. He looked up at the couch expecting to see a sleeping girl, but instead found August starring up at the ceiling intently, gently grinding her teeth.  
Then he noticed that the walls and ceiling were also gently vibrating. The old furniture and hanging cobwebs were disturbed by this new event. Then he realized that August was causing this to happen, and apparently without meaning to.

"Hey!" Pennywise reached over to the girl, gently grabbing her arm and hoping to bring her back from wherever she was at. As soon as he did this August's eyes darted over to him, and the shaking stopped.

Pennywise looked around the room, noticing the sudden stillness. "Are you okay?" He didn't know if he actually cared or not but was still curious as to how the girl could be so powerful and not even notice it.

"Yeah, of course," she answered quickly, eyes still a little glazed over.

August saw the look of confusion on Pennywise's face and suddenly noticed that she had zoned out. She sat up suddenly, wanting to move around to keep her thoughts off what happened last night. Getting up quickly and startling Pennywise as she did so, she zipped up her jacket and prepared herself for a walk home.  
"I have to go." She began walking out of the house and then stopped herself at the door suddenly remembering something.

Turning back to look at Pennywise who somehow looked more confused then before she smiled at him, "Thank you for letting me stay the night."

Pennywise didn't know what to say, because he really wasn't supposed to be nice to people and no one should be thanking him for anything. "Yeah, but remember that it can't be a regular thing," he responded, trying to keep his voice gruff and void of sympathy. In reality, he was still somewhat worried about the girl and knew something really bad had happened last night.

August nodded at him and walked through the door, meeting the bright sunshine that seemed to intentionally contradict her mood. She needed to go home and shower. The need to wash the man's touch off her was nagging her to the point that she would even take the chance of running into her mother to do it.

Arriving home, she quietly opened the door, searching for a sign of anyone being awake. All the rooms were dark, and the house seemed quiet. She quietly walked down the hallway towards her mother's door. It was cracked slightly open and she gently peered inside. Her mother was sleeping, mouth fully open as she snored. The man that must have accompanied her last night was also asleep, facing away from the room towards the wall.

Thinking that it was safe enough to try and shower, she walked through the bathroom door and gently closed it behind her.

What August wasn't aware of was that Pennywise had decided to follow her home. He was worried that she would be aware of his presence, but it seemed that she was too preoccupied with other thoughts to notice his presence. He had noticed the careful way she had entered the house and confirmed her mother's unconscious state. As the sound of the shower started Pennywise wondered why she was afraid of being in her home.

Pennywise wanted to know what had happened the night before, and so he quietly entered her bedroom searching for clues. He immediately noticed spots of blood on the floor beside her bed. After closer inspection, he concluded that it belonged to a middle-aged man's blood. He then went into the mother's room, and sniffed the man that was next to her. Pennywise could tell right away that the blood couldn't belong to him. Someone else was in the girl's room last night.

Pennywise found himself sitting on the girl's bed, thinking about what he found. It seemed that a man had tried to attack the poor girl. In what manner he didn't want to know. He was also unsure what to do with this information.

Then he heard the sound of the shower turning off and the shower curtain opening. He quickly went and hid under her bed. It seemed pretty clear that she wasn't the type of human that wanted others knowing her business and she probably wouldn't appreciate him following her home.

August entered her bedroom, still trying to remain quiet. After closing her door, she suddenly noticed the blood on the floor from the night before. Having the sudden urge to cry, she kneeled down next to her bed and began grinding her teeth again. Then the vibrating started again too. August was once again unaware of it, and so when her mother in the next room woke up, she didn't know to hide.

Ms. Greenleaf woke up noticing the slight way the room was vibrating. Rather than being curious she shoved the covers off herself, frustrated at being woken up. She put on her robe and lit a cigarette suddenly noticing the splitting headache she had from her drunken state last night.

Pennywise heard the mother wake up and quickly pulled himself out from under the bed. August, startled at his sudden appearance and almost squealed in surprise. "Shhh," he hushed quickly placing a hand over her mouth, "Your being too loud." Pennywise made eye contact with her, warning her silently to trust him and stay silent. They both stayed still and listened to the sound of her mother walk down the hallway and enter the bathroom. August pulled herself away from Pennywise and hurried to her closet, trying to get dressed as fast and quietly as she could. That's also when Pennywise noticed that she had only been wearing a towel when he had grabbed her. For some reason he felt embarrassed at this realization and avoided looking in the direction of where the girl was getting dressed.

Ms. Greenleaf exited the bathroom and was about to walked back to her room when she heard a small thump coming from her daughter's room. Since the two rooms weren't far apart it only took one step for her to walk to her daughter's door and open it. August and her mother starred back at each other.

"What the fuck are you doing here," she asked angrily. "You know I don't want you here while I'm trying to sleep. You're the one that fucking woke me up, aren't you?" Her mother crossed the room to her daughter and grabbed her by the arm to force her to look her in the eye.

August kept still and quiet, not showing any emotion to her mother. "I just forgot some stuff before I left last night," she responded keeping her voice level.

"Oh yeah," mumbling off-handedly and she took another drag from her cigarette. "Tony beat the shit out that guy last night, so I wouldn't try to steal anymore of my clients again." Tony must have been the guy that her mother brought home last night.

"Steal your clients? Is that what you think happened?" August was losing the battle as anger began to creep into her tone.

"I know a slut when I see one, so don't think you can fool me." Her mother took one last puff off her cigarette and put it out on her daughter's shoulder. The only sound August made in return was a small intake of breath but remained emotionless otherwise. "Now get the fuck out of here, I gotta get back to sleep. I have to work again tonight."

August stood still listening to her mother return to her bedroom. She didn't look at Pennywise as he appeared beside her. He could feel the anger wafting off her. August quickly grabbed her bookbag and rushed out of the house, grinding her teeth as she walked.

Pennywise felt unsure of what to do. He had a strong urge to protect the girl but didn't know why. He decided to continue following her, until he knew what to do next.

August felt Pennywise following her this time. She was aware of his presence as she walked down main street. As she made her way towards the barrens, she felt herself grow angrier. She was angry at her situation, at her mother, and at herself.

As soon as she knew she was in a private area she screamed into the greenery, "Show yourself, and stop following me!" Pennywise appeared behind her and August turned to face him. "Why would you follow me home like that?" She crossed her arms emphasizing how distrustful she was of him at the moment.

"I wanted to know what happened," Pennywise was quiet as he spoke. "If I wanted you to know what happened, I would have told you," she replied in hot anger.

"I don't wait for permission," he seethed, suddenly defensive at being called out.

"You do if you ever want to know everything about me."

"Maybe I don't want to. Maybe I just want to know enough to satisfy my curiosity before I eat you," he growled baring his teeth to her.

August suddenly turned vulnerable in front of Pennywise. Her features turned soft as she quietly spoke, "Then just do it now." She knew that last night was just one night out of many that had scarred her. There didn't seem to be many reasons to stay behind, but there were too many to leave.

Pennywise grabbed the girl not noticing her change in tone, too angry to sense her broken spirit. He pushed her down on the dirt ground with his fangs open, allowing drool to slide out of his mouth and onto her neck.

August closed her eyes, making peace with her demise. That is until nothing happened. She opened her eyes to see a quiet Pennywise starring down at her, searching her as if searching for answers to a puzzle again.

"Fight me."

Her eyes widened at his command. "What?"

Pennywise bent down towards her face, his eyes turning yellow as he repeated in a growling voice, "Fight me."


End file.
